Macon event to focus on human trafficking, women’s issues

Carla Ellis said Stone Edge Church is offering women in Middle Georgia a “Night of Freedom” on Friday.

Ellis said she hopes some women will come and learn how they can help other area women find freedom from human trafficking and that others will come find freedom themselves from issues all women face.

“We’re going to spotlight the local work and outreach of Out of Darkness Middle Georgia, which reaches out and ministers to women trafficked and prostituted right here in Macon, Warner Robins and surrounding communities,” she said. “We’re also going to look at bondages any woman may face and that there really is freedom from them.”

Ellis said the meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the church, which is located at the corner of Zebulon and Bass roads. She said there will be a time of praise and worship, but that there won’t be an offering taken or any fundraising done.

Ellis, who leads women’s and other ministry at the church where her husband, Joey Ellis, is lead pastor, said while not all women suffer bondages as extreme as being trafficked, many do suffer tragic bondages in their lives such as fear, depression, addictions and other issues. She said statistics show one in three women has suffered abuse.

“Whether it’s trafficking, abuse, the effects of abuse, depression, alcoholism — whatever, there are answers and at the foundation of it all is Jesus and his love for us and the simple truth he wants to set us free from these things. I’ll be talking about that and there will be an opportunity for ministry and prayer for those who want it. Women who suffer these things need to (know) they can be free.”

And then, Ellis said, there’s also the opportunity to learn how to set others set free. She said Cynthia Smith, director of Out of Darkness Middle Georgia, will speak about that.

“Out of Darkness Middle Georgia is a volunteer ministry whose mission is to reach, rescue and restore all victims of commercial sexual exploitation, that the glory of God may be known,” she said. “We do a number of things locally to reach out to sexually exploited women to help them find freedom and healing. We work on building relationships and showing women the love of Christ.”

Smith said Out of Darkness outreaches include evening street ministry in known areas of prostitution, an adopt-a-block program that builds longer-term relationships, ministry to women working in clubs, truck stop ministry and ministry to women in jail. She said all these can lead to women entering an Out of Darkness safe house and to long-term recovery and restoration programs that Out of Darkness pays for.

And, she said, Out of Darkness depends heavily on individual and team prayer ministry.

“For obvious reasons, much of our volunteer work is done by women for women, and we depend on community support to do what we do, but there are also roles men can play. We need both women and men volunteers. People have the idea human trafficking is just in Atlanta or some other country, but it’s here and it’s bigger than we imagine. We see it all the time and the results of it are in our local headlines more and more. It’s something God cares deeply about and something God’s people, ordinary Christians, can do something about — it really is. We’re just regular people, but God can use anyone who’s willing to help others be set free.”

This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Macon event to focus on human trafficking, women’s issues."